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Alert HR manager in Batavia foils paycheck theft attempt

Scammer's attempt to divert direct deposit thwarted

BATAVIA – An alert human resources employee at a Batavia company foiled a scammer’s attempt to change where a direct deposit paycheck would be sent, according to a police report released after a Freedom of Information Act request.

The email was from someone pretending to be one of Wedi’s employees, technical sales support manager, the report stated.

The human resources manager replied to the email with the company’s direct deposit form and advised to attach and send back a voided check to verify that the numbers were correct, the report stated.

The scammer sent the information a short time later. After reviewing the information, the human resources manager became suspicious when the signature was not recognizable to the one on file at the company, the report stated.

The human resources manager then called the employee to verify the information and was told he did not make the request, the report stated, thereby thwarting the scammer's attempt to have the employee's paycheck diverted.